Addendum; the post post-conference tour for Jenny, Anne, Jane, Dianne and Kerryn

When we all went our various ways this group set off for Langkawi after a day of lazing around at the Walawwa.
With only a few hours sleep on the plane we did a whirlwind tour of Singapore as I had never set foot outside the Airport.

First stop was Raffles for a  drink at the Long Bar - no Singapore Slings for us, but every other tourist in town seemed to be drinking them.

We were treated to an unexpected dragon dance when a new business opened nearby. Two white dragons accompanied by very loud drummers announced the opening of a restaurant. A wander around the shops ( where a Crumpler store was spotted) before heading to the Mandarin Hotel,  Chatterbox restaurant known for its chicken rice. Absolutely delicious.  Kerryn and I attempted to keep ourselves awake with an iced coffee - the first coffee for weeks! -but it was a futile attempt as we all dozed off in the taxi to the airport, much to the amusement of the taxidriver.

After just over an hour of flying we landed in Langkawi, Malaysia and were soon ensconced at Bon Ton Heritage Resort.  

This is no ordinary resort hotel - the villas are traditional wooden houses which were transported to this site when they were at risk of being  demolished. No two are the same and they are constructed entirely of wooden panels, some intricately carved, and have palm fronds for rooves.  They have been fitted out with all mod cons, although our air conditioner gave up the ghost when two geckos crawled inside! Our shower water simply runs through the gaps in the wooden floorboards and on to the ground below.

The food is some of the best on the island and we have enjoyed far too much of it. Superb local dishes such as Laksa, lobster and Nasi Lemak , have been complemented by fabulous desserts, and an interesting array of complimentary cocktails eg crushed strawberries,  vodka, chili, basil, soda and lime. Our favorite was the frozen  Lime Margaritas. Heaven!

Breakfast is delivered to the villa and stored in the fridge so we can have it at our leisure on our verandah. It includes a plate of cake: yesterday we had honey joys and rice bubble and peanut slice - not so surprising as one of the owners is an Australian!

As I am writing this sitting on a lounge bed by the pool early in the morning, a cat has just jumped on the table next to me to check me out. Bon Ton is not only a hotel but has aclinic that looks after many stray cats and dogs, spaying and adopting many of the cats. Consequently every one of the Villas has its own cat who attempts to get inside every time a door is opened.  You can also take the dogs for a walk , but we have all declined that offer.

In fact we have worked very hard to do absolutely nothing for the entire time we have been here, which is quite an achievement for busy women who are on the go constantly at home. We've barely ventured outside of the walls. We've wandered around in our sarongs and bathers for days.

So far we've managed to avoid any of the following activities available in Langkawi: parasailing (fat chance!), jet skiing, watching monkeys swim, visiting the mangroves, riding the cable car, feeding eagles, trudging to the waterfalls, visiting the crocodile farm and so on.

Yesterday, in a fit of enthusiasm, we walked to the local town,  booked some massages and treatments for today, bought some more bits and pieces and had a drink overlooking the white sandy beach lined with identical resorts. The beaches of Langkawi are stunning: beautiful pristine blue waters, palm trees and lots of blinding white sand. Because of that they are lined with endless resorts and lounge chairs,  and the buzz of jet skis and speed boats fills the air.

We were happy to return to our secluded quiet pool!  

After 5 nights here we will have completely 'chilled out' before catching the plane back to civilisation tomorrow night. The end of a marvelous trip never to be forgotten,

your relaxed correspondent

Dianne

A funny thing happened. ....

Here's a list of some of the funnier moments or idiosyncrasies of travelling in Sri Lanka........

-- Desperate for some ice to deal with her stubbed toe , Marianne rang room service and asked for some. A man with an  ironing board arrived instead! When he eventually returned with the ice he wrapped it in a shower cap for easy application on to her foot: very clever.

- Veronica was sitting and  chatting to Thushura whilst he was standing in the bus, when the bus jolted due to a pothole in the road and he ended up sitting in Veronica's lap! No injuries were sustained. However there was some suggestion that actually Veronica was flashing her elbows at him (considered very sexy in SL)

- Despite having an array of adaptors suitable for every country,  including Botswana, Turkey and possibly Antarctica,  Kerryn and I could not find one to fit the powerpoint at the Grand Hotel. We rang for assistance feeling rather sheepish. The man came in smiling,  stuck a pencil in one of the three holes in the powerpoint and inserted the plug into the other two holes. We were horrified given the years of nagging from our mothers about NEVER inserting anything strange into a powerpoint.  However it seemed to work and no one was electrocuted in the process!

 Whilst shopping for spices in the Kandy market I cleverly bartered and got the price down from12 to 9 , then I got totally confused with the noughts and tried to pay him 900 rupiah ($90) instead of 90 rupiahs ($9.00). He thought was it was very funny but said he would be happy to accept it!

Then every shop we went to he popped up again: scarves, harem pants, sarongs - there he was! ! It was difficult to work out which shop he owned and which he was getting a commission from. Obviously he was hoping I would make the same mistake again!

- As we get older and more infirm, sad to say, we seem to have more accidents. Here's the score to date:
One badly-stubbed toe
One grazed shin
Two falls on wet surfaces
One sore back due to the twisting turning and bouncing
One fall,  which no one witnessed, of a person going 'a over t' due to the muddy ground in the tea plantation
Two cases of entanglement by unwinding sarong, resulting in the wearers being bound to a number of tea bushes and imprisoned until help arrived
A number of tummy upsets due to bad food, rich food, too much food, different food and possibly general over indulgence

It appeared that everyone had adopted the scout motto of 'Be prepared' ( Sue H. would be proud of us!) as we appeared to have enough medication between the lot of us to treat a large army. Alison's session alerted us to the practicalities of treating ourselves, but it seemed that the presence of a number of GPs  was too tempting and various pop-up clinics sprang into action when needed: in the pool, on the bus etc. Many thanks to the GPs who really ended up on a 'busman's holiday'!

- Cricket is everywhere in SL: three international cricket grounds that we passed, boys in traditional cricket whites in the streets, students standing in monsoonal rain in school sports grounds playing cricket, street games in any open spaces etc etc. And the national sport of SL is.......VOLLEYBALL!

- Sometimes the funniest moments are based on something totally unexpected which could go terribly wrong. When the young male elephant decided to take an exception to the Jeep containing Marianne, Ursula and others it may well have been a frightening experience. The elephant started to flap its ears and trumpet as a warning to them to get away and then began to actually chase the jeep! Shrieks and screams were heard issuing from the occupants, but rather than horror they were screams of excitement. We are still pondering on Marianne's comment that "It was the most exciting moment of my life since marriage"!

- Scarecrows exist the world over but the ones in SL are not scaring birds away from crops: they are perched on buildings during the building phase. Apparently they prevent jealousy and envy and bad thoughts from others.

- Sri Lankan names tend to be long and difficult for us to pronounce, including a rolling of the rrrr's which is nigh on impossible. At the school we had difficulty saying their very long names in response to our question "what's your name?". Marianne (sorry Marianne -  you again!) got one back when one of the young boys asked her about her name and she replied with "Marianne Theresa.....followed by her maiden name, married name and several other names, which stunned the poor boy!

- Spontaneous singing became a feature of the trip, probably due to the incredibly corny songs played everywhere based on the music of the 70's and 80's, and at times even earlier. Live music was played at many meals, although we're still trying to work out why, at the roadside lunchstop, the musicians appeared to have mexican sombreros on?! Apart from John Denver, Simon and Garfunkel was a frequent source of creative inspiration, although half of our group singing Cecilia loudly whilst at cooking class drove a couple of members to change groups immediately. It's still hard to say whether the musicians appreciated our accompaniment - they probably just put it down to Australians being rather strange!

- It took a while for our guides to work out whether we were crazy or what, but the trip was very much enhanced by their sense of humour, patient answering of questions they must hear all of the time, and the care they showed in  looking after some of the less mobile members of the group. We have all decided that Zoe should emigrate to Australia so we all provided counselling to ensure that happens. Thushara's singing of traditional SL songs , and his less successful attempts to teach us, added much to the trip. The funniest moment was when we all descended upon him to farewell him: he was somewhat aghast. Maybe we were slightly more enthusiastic than other groups??!!

- One of the most noticeable and lovely aspects of travelling in Sri Lanka is the way the local people respond all of the time - with wide smiles, a nod of the head or an "Ayu bowan" ( from my heart to yours) with palms together. Tourism is not big here, and I guess within the hospitality industry you expect these responses, but they seemed much more genuine in SL than elsewhere. On the streets peoples faces lit up when I said " Ayu bowan " to them and then they would usually say 'Hello" at which we both laughed. When I went for a walk one morning I came across three stern looking older ladies in sarongs waiting for a bus to transport them to work. When I said hello to them, they smiled broadly so I pointed at my camera, they nodded, and I took a photo and showed them, which they all found very amusing, and then they kept waving to me as they got in the van..

It would be fair to say that we loved the parts of Sri Lanka that we were able to see in such a short time. Given the history of civil war which decimated the country particularly in the north, we may have expected some evidence of that in the south and centrally. Whilst the 30 years of brutal civil war has no doubt taken its toll on all Sri Lankans, we had a truly wonderful and safe time, and I would urge others to visit. There is much to see and enjoy!

Of course travelling with 25 of your friends is always a great way to go - and many thanks to all of you! - but just going is the important thing! I'm happy for the blog address to be given to anyone going to SL to read and enjoy the adventures we had there,

your signing - off - correspondent,

Dianne

Back to Colombo and farewells

Sunday 25th October

As we emerged from our beds and packed ready for the trip to Colombo we realised that this was the last day together.

It appears that every staff member in the hotel was either present or heard about our partying last night. With many smiles they all made comments about our dancing and having fun.The ones that were on duty admitted they weren't allowed to dance because they were at work. I think they found our group quite a novelty, as I suspect its usually a quiet serene place. They were quite surprised that we weren't tired after all of the fun and frivolity.

After breakfast we set off for Colombo, about 180 kms away, so that most of the group could catch a plane home tonight at 1.30am. So it was going to be a long day!

One of the things we have learnt about SL is that time is an elastic concept and it is almost impossible to estimate how long anything will take, especially if it involves road travel. Roadworks are frequent,  and traffic unable to be accurately anticipated. (Admittedly loo stops are also an additional unpredictable factor). Consequently when we are told a time the question often  asked is: "Is that Sri Lanka time or real time?". So the trip took 6 hours, actually half an hour quicker than anticipated!

Whilst the scenery was beautiful as we slowly made our way down from the mountaintop,  for those of us susceptible to motion sickness it was hard going.  The extraordinary number of extreme hairpin bends were handled skilfully and very slowly by our driver. The ginger tablets helped, and most of the bus seemed to doze off at various points - possibly the quietest we have ever been on the bus.

We were distracted by the sight of endless acres of tea bushes planted on terraces as far as the eye could see. In some plantations they had been planted in an ad hoc manner and looked like round green pincushions scattered over the slopes.  Others were planted in very orderly lines and were totally symmetrical.

We saw lots of tea pluckers at work and noted that their baskets were shaped to make it easier to deposit the tea more successfully than we had managed. They need to pick 16 to18 kgms per day which gives them about 700 rupiah (approximately $7.00). If they pick more they get more: but you would need to be very skilled to pick that amount , let alone more. The tip of a tea bush doesn't weigh much!

The view at a loo stop was just stunning: a waterfall leading down through the mountains into a huge green lake in the distance surrounded by terraced mountains.

We stopped at a travel restaurant for a curry buffet lunch - which include bread and butter pudding for dessert ( the English influence is still strong!) .

To while away the hours,  Zoe,  our wonderful guide, ran a trivia quiz after we'd been organised into teams of two. The 64 questions included a range of categories with quite a few from Thushara to test out whether we had been listening to him! The funniest question was about the name of the bus driver,  as it turned out that Zoe had been calling him the wrong name for the entire trip!! The proud winners were the Shepp Sheilas (alias Ursula and Sue N. ). Kerryn and I were amazed that we came second as our plan was simply to not come last!

We were all delighted to arrive back at the gorgeous Wallawa which was the Hotel where we stayed on the first night. The pool was used for a last wallow and dinner was superb. From here we were following different paths home: a couple to Vietnam, 6 of us to Langkawi,  one to stay put in SL for a few days , but most direct to home.

After dinner there was chaos as those leaving on the 1.30am and later flights repacked their suitcases and faced the dilemma of how to transport their wet bathers home.

It was sad to see everyone leave, including the guides who have made the last two weeks so memorable. Thushara was a bit aghast at having all of us descend upon him to kiss and hug him goodbye. Not the usual Sri Lanka behaviour!

We were all reassured by Jenny that there will be future conferences and there was much discussion about reunions in the intervening period.

It's hard to pinpoint why travelling with a group of women is so powerful for women, but Women and Power works in different ways for different people by just allowing space and time to be ourselves: it's that simple.

I plan to write another blog post with some further comments whilst relaxing at Langkawi and I will put in lots of photos when the technology and I can come to some agreement, which may not be until Melbourne. This blog would have been a lot more interesting with photos of course so I am sorry I couldn't manage it.

I should also apologise for the spelling and the appalling grammar : It's hard to be accurate and write beautifully and still have a relaxing time!

your chilled-out-at-the-Wallawa correspondent,

Dianne

PS: For those at home check out the Wallawa online: it is superb. DA

Nuwara Eliya - it's a tongue twister!

Saturday's 25th October

The good news was that we didn't have to get on the bus until 10am!

Lots of leisurely breakfasts, catching up on emails and walks. Kerryn and I wandered through the Victoria Gardens which was a very typical beautifully maintained English garden. Some of the topiary was remarkable although it was difficult to identify some of the animals created by careful pruning.

A few of our number - not naming any names! -  looked a little weary after having ended the night with some wild dancing with some Malaysian guests. Apparently there was singing involved as well. But what happens on the dance floor stays on the dance floor!

During the down time yesterday Ursula took the short cut through the golf course and had a chat to the Security guard whose main job seemed to be clearing leaves from the greens. He complained that the trees dropped leaves all year long and funnily enough they were gum trees. Apparently the President and the Prime Minister have houses adjoining the golf course.  When Ursula asked if they played golf he told her that they had golf clubs and the right clothes but never actually played!

We set off in the bus and after a few winding kilometres we decanted into some small buses for the trip up the narrow dirt road to the top of a mountain. We spotted a huge rectangular multistorey white building at the Heritage Estate from a few kilometres away.  It was the original tea factory built by the English plantation owners in the 1800s, which has now been converted into a boutique hotel. The estate also consists of houses with small thriving vegetable gardens: the homes of the tea pluckers and other staff. In their heyday they had schools and health services provided by the plantation owners.

In the early days huge numbers of Tamils from India were brought in by the English to work long hours for minimal pay. These days, following independence in 1948,  the plantations are owned by Sri Lankans with some foreign investment.

Surrounded by endless low tea bushes in orderly rows for as far as the eye could see, the tea factory stands out for miles. We arrived to be presented with warm towels and a cup of very fragrant tea. An older man came around to each of us and put a dab of turmeric in the centre of our foreheads which felt cool as it dried.

Little did we know that we were expected to earn our keep by actually plucking tea! But before we could start we had to be dressed appropriately in brightly coloured cotton saris. The 'dressers' managed to get 6 metres of fabric securely wrapped around each one of us using one piece of cotton tape around our waists and one safety pin at our shoulders.  Quite a feat!

Then we were presented with huge baskets with a wide cotton tape attached so we could support the basket by placing the cotton tape across our foreheads. Let me tell you that before a single leaf was placed in the basket they weighed quite a bit. A few people complained of sore necks and backs before we even made it down the hill to the tea bushes.

All of those romantic pictures of tiny smiling Sri Lankan women gaily tossing leaves into their baskets bore no resemblance to 21 of us trying not to tangle our saris in the bushes and, even more difficult, trying to toss the tiny leaves into the baskets! My first six attempts resulted in only two leaves actually ending up in the basket so I decided it would be better to wear it like a shoulder bag for the sake of accuracy.

There was a slight incident when Ursula and her sari parted company after she fell over -  but good news! - none of her tea fell out of her basket. One of the 'dressers' headed down the slope to do 'remedial dressing'  so Ursula could extricate herself, and her sari, from the bushes.

After some time the muddy ground, the weight of the baskets, the headaches and the slope of the hill took their toll and when I looked up we seemed to have more 'supervisors' from our group than tea pluckers.  Barbara (at 83) had been given the honorary title of tea superintendent,  but there seemed to be a lot of tea pluckers vying for the title.

With some relief we were told to tramp back up the hill and we deposited our leaves into one basket.  Just let me say that given our poor productivity and the working conditions none of us are thinking of a career change! It was a lot of fun but between the lot of us we barely picked a quarter of a basket and probably not enough for a cup of tea each.
This photo shows the product of  an hours worth of sweat and toil on my part; just a bit short of the 18kgms per day needed to make a subsistence salary!

Next was a session on the actual tea-making process using some very old machinery imported from Britain over a century ago. We learnt (but may not have retained) the difference between pekoe,  flowery pekoe,  orange pekoe etc but it is true that the finest leftover tea is used in tea bags (and pay attention Mum and Dad, the Bi-lo teabags are probably even worse tea dust!).

Then it was off to lunch which was presented with great panache and the simultaneous lifting of silver cloches covering our main courses.

A quick peruse of the tea shop resulted in a few purchases. Then we were presented with a couple of bags of tea as we left, which was a lovely touch. As we drove away we all agreed that it was a great experience.

Back to the hotel via Lake Gregory - yet another incongruous English name!

Then we went our separate ways to rest, read, walk or shop.

Then Sally, Jenny and I had a very funny experience. We took ourselves off to the bazaar to buy locally manufactured cheap gortex parkas and runners, which we did very successfully. Just as we were about to leave, the heavens opened and it absolutely poured, as only monsoonal rain can. Struggling with our purchases we managed to put on our rain jackets and climb into a tuk tuk. They are really designed for two people but we managed to get the three of us, plus our purchases, jammed into the tiny bench seat. The sides of the tuk tuk were covered in black rubberised fabric so we were quite snug.

We were all struggling to get out money to pay the tuk tuk driver when I removed my purse from my bag which was resting on my knees, and THE ENTIRE BAG SLID OUT THE SIDE OF THE TUK TUK AND LANDED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD.

The driver kept going, totally oblivious, until I yelled "STOP! " at which point he did , right in the middle of the road. I peeked out the side of the tuk tuk to see my bag getting drenched in the pouring rain and another tuk tuk stopped, protecting it from being run over by a large bus behind.

Our tuk tuk driver did a speedy U-turn and pulled up next to my bag, and I gracefully leaned out of the tuk tuk and retrieved my sodden bag and off we went. We laughed hysterically all of the way back to the hotel and overpaid the smiling driver who found the whole incident very amusing ,to the point where he had found it difficult to drive straight as he was laughing so much.

Everything in the bag was intact as it's a Crumpler bag ( just a bit of a plug Janis! ) and the fabric saved everything inside from the water - including my camera.

We staggered into the hotel, dripping wet and slightly hysterical, having survived quite an adventure!

Tonight we are dining in the Tea Salon and having a tea- themed dinner which will be fun. There is also the threat of more singing and dancing but we shall see what happens.

your very relieved and slightly damp correspondent

Dianne

PS: Dinner was superb, and followed some delightful cocktails. Two very cool SL guys with great voices sang whilst we ate, and fortunately had a wider repertoire than previous places (although it appears to be compulsory to sing at least one John Denver song every night at every venue: I personally will be happy to never hear Take Me Home ever again!).

As the night progressed the music inspired everyone to get up and dance. And I mean everyone. We had already been of interest to some of the other guests, some of whom just stood at the door and watched us talk and laugh.  By the time the night ended we had the staff - from the bellboy to the chef to the Manager watching with big smiles - you could see the Manager was desperate to have a dance but couldn't quite let himself go and join in. Some of the other guests just joined in, but the stars of the night were Prashani, Thushara and our bus driver whose name is so complicated I can't attempt to spell it. They were fabulous and everyone had a great time. There's something about being a part of a group of women who simply don't care what others think that is very liberating! DA

A holy tooth, a fossil tree, and more in Kandy

Thursday 23rd October

The highlight of breakfast was a bowl of vegemite and Berenberg jams and honey from South Australia. Let me tell you  that vegemite looks bad anyway but in a pristine white bowl it looks revolting! The other delicacy on offer was chicken gizzards: a queue did NOT form from our tables.

First stop was the Royal Botanic Gardens at Peradeniya: another legacy from the British,  including Louis Mountbatten.

We spent a couple of wonderful hours tramping around the gardens being overwhelmed by the size and health of the plants. I kept spotting plants I have at home but mine are about one fifth to one tenth of the size: everything grows so quickly here.

 Some of the highlights included:
- a fern palm which is a living fossil as it is known to have existed 350 million years ago. The specimen we saw was 110 years old.
- an arrow poison tree, the bark of which is very poisonous , and very effective as it kills animals quickly but doesn't stay in the animal so you can safely eat it.

- the largest bamboo I have ever seen! See if you can spot Alison who bravely offered to climb down the slope to put the bamboo into perspective.
- some sea palms from the Seychelles whose ' double coconut' fruit are 20 kgms each (don't stand underneath would be my advice!) and the plants take nearly 40 years to grow from seed to first fruit {see photo below}.

  - a ficus tree which we grow in Australia except this one covered an area of 250sq. metres which meant many of the huge low branches had to be supported by metal poles - a 230 year old jackfruit tree
- an orchid house with many of the 188 species of orchids . which grow in SL
- a row of leaning Cook's pines known as drunken trees. Their odd shapes were due to an infestation of termites in their roots.

Our guide was Professor of Botany Bandara Palipana who had a wealth of knowledge and some funny tricks to show us about the plants.
A cup of tea (vastly better than the coffee! ) and a lemon cream biscuit and we were ready to go.

The next visit was to a very important Buddhist site where many local people were worshiping. As the name suggests the Temple of the Tooth contains one tooth from Buddha which was taken after he was cremated and treasured for centuries before finally arriving in SL hidden in the hair of a princess. Every year there is a huge procession where the casket is paraded around the streets with drummers, dancers and thousands of people.

We followed the pathway around the temple buildings shoeless and covered in our sarongs,  clutching a beautiful pink lotus.

 In the main temple we carefully placed them with many other offerings.  You aren't supposed to ask anything of Buddha, just to promise that you will lead a good life based on his principles.

 A great deal of craftsmanship was evident in the carvings and paintings on every wooden post and ceiling , and an array of huge elephant tusks and golden embroidery on red cloth.

We were given tiny earthenware pots with some wax and wicking, which we lit and placed in a huge candle holder with hundreds of others. Then we lit some incense sticks and placed them in large pots. Fortunately this was outdoors as the smoke and smell was very strong!

We admired the workmanship in the posts and roofing of a huge open audience hall, where no nails were used for the construction. These sacred places have such an atmosphere of peace and contemplation.

Lunch was at the Empire Cafe and very enjoyable, particularly the pineapple and fresh ginger ice cream,  and the jackfruit and orange was pretty good too.

Feeling revived we headed for the Kandy market where we had a lot of fun bartering with the shop sellers. The hustle and bustle was entrancing. Spices, goat and silk pashminas and brightly colored harem pants were among the purchases. I have to admit that I was confused about the rupiah and almost paid someone 9000 rupiah instead of 900!!

Then it was 'show and tell' on the bus on the way home.  

As we hadn't had a chance to drink much of the duty free alcohol bought at Singapore we thought we should have a drinks session, so 18 of us piled into our hotel room (after Kerryn and I had tidied up!). Our resident GPs did consultations in the bathroom, whilst Anne lay like a princess across the bed with her injured leg propped on a cushion!  Monsoonal rain prevented us from using the lovely patio so we were a  bit squashed. It was a lot of fun and then we all negotiated the stairs to go to dinner, which was another enormous buffet.

Replete we headed for bed and an early departure in the  morning.

your gin-soaked correspondent

Dianne

 

Trains and tea

Packed and breakfasted we set off in the bus to get to the train station to catch the train to Nuwara Eliya, the hub of the tea plantations industry high in the mountains.

We piled into our first class seats and were impressed with the degree of luxury, which we appreciated for the four hour trip. It was a difficult decision to make about where to look - Rowan Atkinson with Chinese subtitles on the TV, or the stunning mountain panoramas

As we slowly climbed the lush jungle gave way to the low orderly green tea bushes shaped around the hills and valleys of the mountains.


 A few towering eucalypts were spotted too {see photo below. Blurry I know!}. Apparently when the English cleared the land for tea plantations they planted lots of familiar trees including gum trees and casuarinas. The problem was that they didn't have deep root systems or lush jungle undergrowth,   and consequently land slides occurred. {PS.The week after we travelled on this train, and back down the mountain highway on the bus, there were a number of landslides which stopped the train and blocked the highway. Heavy monsoonal rains caused mud to slide downhill and in one plantation many people died.}

 Some spectacular ravines and waterfalls appeared, and eventually we merged into the clouds.

Everyone was anticipating the cool air of the mountains as a welcome change to the heat and humidity.

After a couple of hours a peanut seller got on board with a flat basket full of warm peanuts roasted with curry leaves with a touch of chili and salt. That curry bush I have planted at home may get some use!! He simply scooped some peanuts into a tiny paper bag made from used exercise books: some of us had math problems,  others had writing. Great recycling! The nuts were absolutely delicious.

At one point we saw a community of identical houses perched on a hill. Apparently this was housing provided for people whose homes had been lost because of a new hydroelectric scheme.  A few kilometres down the track we saw the giant dam wall.

The influence of the English tea plantation owners was obvious in the names of the train stations: Hatton, Great Western,etc

After enjoying a substantial packed lunch on the train we finally arrived at the station and just as we disembarked amidst the crowds it started to pour.  The cool air was very exhilarating as we found our umbrellas and dashed for the bus.

Five kilometres of winding road and we arrived at our destination, Nuwara Eliya,  a town 1868 metres above sea level. It's apparently known as 'little England' and for good reason.

 The architecture is very Tudor and colonial. As the designated summer abode of the wealthy English it even has a Golf Club, and the streams are full of introduced trout. The gardens are exact replicas of standard English gardens with trimmed hedges, hydrangeas, roses and topiary.

We are staying at the Grand Hotel: a huge old style hotel that used to be the Governor's residence but has been extended into a large hotel. It has been completely furnished in the colonial tradition with lots of dark wooden furniture, fireplaces, brocade and flowered bathroom tiles. Plus a grand piano in one of the many lounge rooms.

For the first time we were greeted with warm hand towels and a cup of tea, rather than chilled towels and a fruit juice.

After settling in we all wandered off to see the town, which was busy, damp and noisy. We had a lovely time in the supermarket choosing snacks for drinks tonight - the manioc chips and chilli peanuts looked good. There seemed to be a remarkable number of skin whitening creams on offer too. One of the services provided by the supermarket was coconut grating: I should try asking for that in my local Coles. They also sold antibiotics without the need for a prescription!

There were some rain jackets in some shops with familiar labels like North Face and even some gortex ones.Some were made locally and others in Vietnam and China where huge numbers of garments are made. Sally scored a very smart North Face jacket at less than half the price at home. A few of us were keen to buy a hopper pan and searching lots of little hardware shops finally resulted in success.

Upon our return we opted for a cup of tea and shortbreads in the Tea Salon under the yellow umbrellas. The most challenging decision was which of the 28 teas on offer we preferred. Cinnamon tea was a popular choice whilst I enjoyed the Earl Grey.

Soon it will be time for gin and tonics in Jenny's room and then dinner here at the Grand. Then it will be off to bed as tomorrow we are going to pick tea!

your tea-soaked correspondent

Dianne

Heading for the hills - Kandy here we come

Amazingly we all managed to fit our latest purchases into our bags and got them to the bus on time.
We farewelled Cinnamon Lodge and headed for the caves of Dambulla. 

 But first we had to stop at the very kitsch and very gold Dambulla Museum built in 1990, and admire the facade.  Truly the epitome of bad taste SL style - not only a HUGE gold Buddha sitting on top of an enormous  doorway, but the doorway was framed with hideous teeth and bright red lips:  just like Luna Park.  Flags, elephant statues and a row of lifelike monks completed the picture.  Dambulla is a UNESCO site and apparently they were not impressed - I can understand why!

Then we headed for the famous caves of Dambulla - 5 of them in total - where hermit monks originally lived. When an exiled king sheltered there he returned to make them even more beautiful. 

The bad news was that the caves were up a considerable hill requiring some walking over stone steps or rocky slopes. We were relieved to get to the top, mostly perspiring madly and overheated. We were also glad to have avoided any contact with the many tiny monkeys swinging and playing in the trees. Cute but definitely not cuddly!

Fortunately the five caves were wonderful. Over the centuries there have been many contributions to the restoration and numbers of gold Buddhas: there is quite a range from simple and small to large and ornate. There was an evocative atmosphere as we entered each one : the calm stern faced Buddhas arranged in lines along the walls created a calm meditative atmosphere. The smallest and most simple only had a few but one cave had closer to a hundred. The effect of the natural rock painted with  striking designs along the ceilings and walls acting as a backdrop to the shining yellow Buddhas was stunning Some were more ornate than others but the impact of even the plainest yellow Buddhas in such numbers was amazing.

As this is such a sacred Buddhist site we again had to be covered up: note the white sarongs and socks being modelled by Alison and Veronica as they waited to enter the next cave.

We all were given a beautiful purple lotus flower to give as an offering to the Buddhas and we placed our hands in the prayer position and silently promised to live a better life.

After some photos of the lovely mountain views we carefully made our way down the hill to the bus and gratefully climbed aboard to rest:  for us any exercise in the heat and humidity is a challenge (at least that is my excuse!).

One of the joys of traveling with a large group of women is the need to find toilets at regular intervals ( more detail than you need to know I am sure!). This time we stopped at a  spice farm , used their loos and then did the speed version of the walk around the spice garden with the guide so we could leave! It was interesting to see huge pink cacao pods and hear about the many uses of spices and herbs in ayurvedic medicine.

As we drove along we were surprised to see a large gathering of people with some marquees and hundreds of new motor bikes lined up. This wasn't a motorbike rally : it was evidence of government corruption! We had seen blue flags flying along many of the roads and apparently they signify support for the current President, who is up for re-election soon. The motorbikes were to be given to the local people as bribes: buying votes on a big scale!

Next was  the home and batik workshop of Ena de Silva. Again we had to downsize from the bus into small buses and tuk tuks to get to her jungle home high on a hill. 

She is well known for her work in setting up businesses for locals and the young girls who started in her batik workshop more than 50 years ago still work there.  We had the chance to admire their work and purchase some of their batiks.

 But first we sat on the outdoor verandah looking out over the lush hills and mountains, and enjoyed a lunch consisting of 24 curries!!! 

Mostly vegetarian and made with local vegetables including jackfruit, sweet potato, cashew nuts, eggplant,  peas,  and tomato. There was one that Thushura warned us was dynamite so I avoided that one! They weren't chilli hot at all: but they had an amazing range of complex flavours.

 Fruit salad and jaggery pudding followed. Jaggery is made from palm sugar and is like very dark rich treacle, except solid, so the  pudding was fabulous if you have a sweet tooth like me!

Back on the bus and off we headed observing the life of the locals, many of whom smile and wave as we drive by. One cheeky schoolboy blew kisses at us!

The array of fruit trees that grow wild on the sides of the road reminds us that we are in a tropical zone: jackfruit, mangoes, avocados,  mangosteen and rambutans to name a few.

We kept climbing up to the central highlands and the mountaintop city of Kandy, 500 metres above sea level. It's a bustling city with a population of 3 million and is clearly a commercial centre as every second shop seemed to be a bank or finance business. Many of the houses seemed quite grand perched on the steep hillsides: they may well have been summer houses for the colonials who couldn't stand the heat of the coast.

The Cinnamon Citadel (great name for a hotel!)  is a multi storey hotel overlooking the Mahaweli river - the longest river in SL. As the clouds gathered a few of us plunged into the pool and soon the rain increased into the usual monsoonal downpour.  We'd ordered lime sodas ( made with fragrant limes - delicious! )and they started to fill with water. It was warmer in the water than out so we stayed put until the thunder and lightning started and then made a dash for our rooms.

Dinner was at a very cool pub called Slightly Chilled which was high up the mountain and overlooked the lights of the entire city.

The bus driver did a great job of manouvering the bus around some very tight corners and in some very tight spaces.  He had to reverse on a slope down a narrow road from the pub car park in the rain and mud. We all applauded when he made it! Very impressive!

Back to the CC for bed in anticipation of another busy day,

your slightly waterlogged correspondent

Dianne